Davidic Generation Church Midweek Service by Pastor Lawrence Oyor: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Intercession and Spiritual Warfare for Nigeria

Before the teaching began, the congregation engaged in a time of prophetic intercession and warfare prayer. The preacher led the assembly to cover Nigeria in prayer, particularly targeting the insecurity ravaging the nation.

Whatever you read on the news is never as it seems. By the time something is being reported, so much more has already transpired underneath the surface — layers upon layers of hidden realities. The average Nigerian is now vulnerable to being weaponised because poverty is weaponised. Each time Psalm 72 is read, one cannot help but wonder why the emphasis on saving the needy, saving the poor, saving the oppressed. Many would not be subject to these conditions if the body of Christ rose up.

It is not sufficient that all believers can do is pray. That was not God's design. The government was meant to be upon the shoulder of those aligned with his kingdom. Prayer is an assignment — not to collect cars and houses — but to intercede, to bridge the gap, to step in.

Joy: A Review of Part One

This message is a continuation from the previous Sunday's teaching on joy. The preacher opened with a brief review from the congregation.

Many people assume joy must happen to them automatically, the way some expect prophecy or tongues to simply fall upon them. But just as you can choose to speak in tongues and stop and start again, joy is similarly exercised by decision. Joy is already present in your spirit as a fruit. It is a choice — you release it.

• Joy is our response to God's word. We rejoice at the word as one who has found great treasure.
• Joy is a choice. You do not wait for joy to happen to you. You can happen to joy. Be conscious that there is always joy in your spirit — it is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If you have the Spirit, you have joy. Bear it as fruit. You are not feeling kind — be kind. You are not feeling peaceful — be peaceful. Same with joy.

Legitimate Reasons a Believer May Experience Sadness

The need for balance was emphasised. Joy is important, but it must be balanced with an honest understanding of legitimate grief. There are three categories of valid reasons why a Christian can genuinely experience sadness, and none of them indicate a loss of faith.

1. Words of Knowledge

   One of the ways words of knowledge manifest is through feelings. You can feel joy, and you can also feel grief. The Holy Spirit can be grieved — and you can experience his emotions. You can feel the way he feels for a person who is not saved. That is fellowship — coming into his emotions for people, and it is necessary for effective prayer. Intercessors will experience this deeply. It is part of prophetic intercession.

   Sometimes a person will weep for two weeks and not understand why. They check their life — nobody wronged them, they passed their exam, they are not sick, everyone is fine. Their spirit is picking up something their soul has not yet understood. Two weeks later, something will happen and they will know why they were crying. You can feel back pain that belongs to someone else. Your emotions, equally, can register what is happening to another person. God is causing you to wear another person's shoe so that you can intercede for them effectively.

   Jesus himself is not untouched. He is touched by what you feel. In heaven, where there is said to be no sorrow, Jesus is feeling the pain of whatever you are experiencing. That is who a high priest is — a person bringing intercession. For effective intercession, you need to wear the shoe. Hebrews 4:15 — we do not have a high priest who is not touched.


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Pastor Lawrence Oyor
Davidic Generation Church
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2. Mourning With Those Who Mourn

   Scripture says to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). If someone hears a teaching on joy and then walks into a house where someone has just died and starts quoting faith declarations without acknowledging the grief — that is not faith, that is insensitivity. Come to their level first, then gradually bring them along, if at all you want to help. Do not talk down on pain.

   It is one of the signs of being a healthy person — the ability to weep. Those who say they can never cry are not well. Even Apostle Paul, when leaving a particular church and entering a ship, was weeping. The people were weeping. It is normal. It is okay to miss people you love. That is not hopeless sadness — it is human. The challenge is mourning like one who has no hope. You can weep as one who has hope. Paul corrected the church in Thessalonica on exactly this point (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

   Tears are also medically beneficial — they help with lymphatic drainage and waste clearance. Crying is a sign of tenderness of heart. The preacher shared how he once asked God to restore his tears, because a stream he had drunk from had hardened his heart to the point where nothing moved him. God restored his tenderness.

3. Godly Sorrow

   Godly sorrow, which scripture says leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). The Holy Spirit cannot convict you of sin and expect you to be laughing. If there is no longer any sorrow in your heart when the Holy Spirit speaks and corrects, you are under a very terrible attack. When David said in Psalm 23 that God restores his soul, it means the grounds lost through sin are recovered.

   When you sin repeatedly, your soul loses grounds. When a person is born, they are born innocent. As life continues, that innocence is eroded by experiences, hurt, betrayal, and sin. The soul accumulates damage. God can restore your soul — taking you back to innocence. He can restore the ability to trust again after betrayal, to love again after being hurt, to pour out again even after being drained by those who took and ran. The heart that makes a person who they are in God must be preserved. It is the heart that powers results.

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Joy as a Spiritual Force

Having established the balance, the teaching then pressed into the weight of joy as something far beyond emotional expression.

Joy is not mere head excitement. Joy is spirit. It is the fruit of the spirit — not of the flesh. That makes it a serious, spiritual thing. This is the challenge with loud things in church: they easily become taken as unserious. That is why worship sometimes feels more powerful than praise — because when worshipping, there is solemnity, there is intention. But praise can degenerate into noise when the heart is not engaged.

Imagine standing before the throne. Read what that throne looks like first. Then enter in. The shout of praise from that posture sinks walls and breaks chains. This same joy sank the wall of Jericho. This same joy broke the chains of Paul and Silas and caused an earthquake in the prison. This same shout shifted millions of believers before this generation.

Release the joy from your spirit. Out of your belly shall flow rivers. Joy is an opportunity to unleash rivers.

Don't be surprised when we are not seeing signs and wonders — because we are not following the protocols. We are just enjoying ourselves. The one who receives praise is not you; it is God.

When praise is not sweet, examine who you think is eating it. Joy is not a coping mechanism. It is how the saints of old operated. It is how we win.

Joy as Medication

Proverbs 17:22 — the merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Medical research has confirmed that chronic sadness and toxic emotional states open a person up to disease. In the realm of the spirit, sorrow opens the gate of your life to demonic infestation. Every minute that you are sad, you open yourself wide. You cannot be proud of sorrow.

Joy is both defense against depression and a healing force. Acts 13:52 — after Paul and Silas were beaten and flogged and driven out of a region, the disciples were filled with joy. Same response in Acts 4, when Peter was flogged — they returned rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. That is not coping — that is winning.

Joy as a Command

Philippians 4:4 — rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say rejoice. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 — rejoice always. The only other instruction given that applies at all times is to pray without ceasing. Always pray. Always rejoice. The practical outworking: keep a song in your heart at all times. Let a melody be playing internally even while engaging with people. Make it a culture. Always singing, always moving, always shaking. I am always happy.

Joel 1 and the Connection Between Joy and Fruitfulness

Joel 1:10-12 — the field is wasted, the land mourns, the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languishes. The vine is dried up, the fig tree languishes, all trees of the field have withered — why? Because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Before losses begin in a territory or a life, joy leaves first.

The reason morning is better than night is because joy comes in the morning. Wherever joy is, God is. Wherever God is, joy is. Psalm 16:11 — in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Turn it around: if you find joy, look around — you will see God. They are in the same place. Trace joy; once you find joy, you will find God.

No devil survives that frequency of joy. You can shout sicknesses from your body.

Joy is a Sign of Revival

Joy is a sign of revival. Sorrow is not healthy for children — that is why they will not follow Jesus when they cannot see joy in his followers. Why is Sunday not a day to be happy? The one place we should be refreshed should not be the place we suffocate. We are not going to do this church work with sorrow. We will enjoy it.

The next level is not just to enjoy joy as a culture within this house but to carry joy and invade everywhere with it. Enter a space where people are frowning and start smiling. Overwhelm the frown with a smile. Overwhelm sad people around you with joy.